


The Joy of Submission, by Tony Stark

by sabinelagrande



Series: Page-Turners [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Collar Porn, Collars, Dom Bruce Banner, Dom/sub, Domme Pepper Potts, Everyone Has Lots of Feelings, F/M, Femdom, Kneeling, Pegging, Pepper Feels, Ridiculous Titles Amuse Me, Science Bros, Strap-Ons, Sub Tony Stark, Tony Feels, Tony/Robots OTP, Writing on Skin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-27
Updated: 2012-11-29
Packaged: 2017-11-19 16:18:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/575201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabinelagrande/pseuds/sabinelagrande
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This year's most fascinating read.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in the same universe as [The Seven Labors of Phil Coulson](http://archiveofourown.org/works/431737), though it's not necessary to have read it.

Tony's collar is a very beautiful thing, a custom work of art, made from a proprietary platinum-titanium alloy that Tony has been known not to shut up about. It starts- or maybe it ends- at a thick, shining ring that lays flat across Tony's neck, just above the hollow of his throat. There are hinges at either end with triangles on them; the sides are wide herringbone chains, so smooth that they practically look like they're single pieces of metal. 

There's a plate near the clasp with something inscribed on it, something Bruce hasn't been able to make out. The reason Bruce hasn't gotten close enough to see is because the collar is very firmly fastened with a padlock marked with a ruby, the key hanging from a chain around Pepper's left wrist. It says "Fuck _directly_ off" as effectively as a huge black posture collar, and with a lot more class and sophistication. Bruce is fairly certain it cost as much as a car, but Tony Stark gets what Tony Stark wants.

Nice work if you can get it.

Bruce is and isn't thinking about Tony's collar at the moment. He isn't thinking about its very high quality and flawless design; he _is_ thinking about how he'd really like its owner to show up as soon as possible. Tony is sometimes like some kind of bee/puppy hybrid, buzzing around Bruce's head and nipping at his ankles at the same time, and it's particularly bad today. Bruce is known for his diplomacy and level-headedness- on the good days- but it's very tempting to tell Tony to get the fuck out and leave him alone, despite the fact that Tony is the one who feeds and houses and clothes him.

It is the ultimate cop-out, Bruce knows very clearly, to wait for Pepper to fix this problem for him. Going over Tony's head is, well, it could be described very accurately as a "dick move", no matter how effective it is. Tony's a collared sub, but he's also a full-grown adult, one who can be reasoned with and spoken to calmly.

On the other hand, he's also playing Jenga with delicate equipment and driving Bruce insane. No jury in the world would convict Bruce if he just skipped all of it and pushed him out the window.

The gods have smiled upon him this day, because just about the time Bruce has decided to just do it, Pepper comes in. She looks generally cheerful, relaxed, the way she does when she's done kicking ass for the day. She gets a little less cheerful when Bruce looks at her; it is an Avengers-standard look, the "For the love of God, Pepper, fix it," one that they have all learned, probably from Tony, and use in any number of situations. Pepper sighs. "Tony," she says warningly.

"Hey look, it's my favorite," Tony says, ignoring her tone, standing up and very shamelessly nuzzling her neck. "Sorry, Bruce," he says over his shoulder. "The sex is better. She actually gives it to me."

"Tony, what have you been doing?" she asks, as if there's no question that he's been doing something wrong.

"Being bored to death," Tony says. "Bruce is the least entertaining human being on the planet today. Did you know he wouldn't even let me show him how to make his experiment explode, even though it'd hardly take a minute of his time? He's just sitting there recording temperature changes and staring at things. Doesn't that sound tedious to you?"

"It was supposed to be tedious and boring," Bruce protests. "It was supposed to be science."

Tony gives Pepper a look. "He might be beyond help."

"In a seventy-story building, you couldn't find anything else to amuse yourself?" Pepper asks. 

"I read a book," Tony says. He pauses. "Okay, I read half a book, figured out whodunit, and got bored. Did that twice, though, so that counts as a whole book."

"And then you decided the only other course of action was to antagonize Bruce," Pepper says.

"Really, I did it for his own good," Tony swears.

Pepper gives him a look that says she's not buying it. "Knees."

She's never actually knelt Tony in front of him before, not in front of any of the Avengers as far as Bruce knows; Tony slips gracefully down, but he doesn't stop talking. "He really needs a hobby, Pep, something other than science, because science isn't a hobby, it's a lifest-"

"Anthony Edward Stark, shut your mouth," she says, and Tony's mouth snaps shut, something Bruce didn't know was possible. "When I want you to bother Bruce, I'll say, 'Please, Tony, go pester Doctor Banner.' Until then you will be friendly, but you will leave him alone when he wants you to." She grabs him by the back of his hair, pulling so he has to look her in the face. "Do you understand me?" Tony nods, and Pepper lets him go. "Sorry about that," she says to Bruce, smiling the slightly exasperated smile she always seems to have when Tony is nearby.

He wants to say that it's nothing, because it really isn't in the grand scheme of things, but he's not going to undermine Pepper like that, make her look like she's overreacting. Also, he honestly is annoyed at Tony right now. "Apology accepted."

"You," she says to Tony. "You go and find Happy. Take him to the gym and don't come out until you've worked off all that energy. Up." He hops up, and she catches him by the ring on his collar, kissing him. "Out of here," she says, looking fondly at him despite her tone.

"So that'll buy me a few hours," Bruce says, watching him go.

"If you're lucky," Pepper says, with a smile.

"Why him?" Bruce asks, because it slips out of his mouth before he can think about it, because it's been at the top of his mind for a while now. Tony is kind of fascinating to him, and he can't exactly express why; maybe she has an idea, though Bruce wouldn't be shocked at all if she just threw her hands up and declared it a mystery of the universe.

Pepper gives him a thoughtful look, like she's sizing him up; she must see what she wants to see. "Because no matter what he does, no matter how much he screws up, he always gets on his knees when I tell him to," she says, like it's that simple, like she doesn't even have to think about it. "He's slept with a lot of people, but the only people he's ever willingly done that for outside of sex or a scene are me and Rhodey." She shakes her head. "He's not sincere about much, but he's sincere about that."

"Huh," Bruce says, because he doesn't have another response.

Pepper smiles, and Bruce knows the conversation is over. "Dinner's at six. Taking all bets as to who will show up, but it smelled really good when I went past the kitchen."

"Wouldn't miss it," Bruce says, and with that, she leaves.

The next time Tony turns up, he's not quite so much of a holy terror; admittedly, this is because Bruce is doing something far more interesting that might lead to things that glow and explode. "Sorry about the other day," Tony says offhandedly, while they're wrist-deep in wiring.

"I imagine Pepper already made you sorry enough," Bruce says.

"Mostly just sore," Tony says, rolling his shoulders. "Not the sexy way, either. The sexy way I'll gladly take." He gives Bruce a look. "The kneeling- was that weird? That was weird for you. I'll say something to Pepper."

"No, no, it was fine," Bruce says. "It's just." He frowns thoughtfully. "You don't seem to have to question it."

Tony tips his chin up, a challenging look on his face. He has this tic that Bruce isn't sure he knows about, something that makes the muscles in his neck flex, and his collar shifts against his skin. "Why would I have to question it?" Bruce holds up his hands, but Tony cuts him off before he can clarify. "I'm hers. I go down for her. End of story."

Bruce winces. "Sore spot," he says.

"I've got a lot of them, didn't know if you knew," Tony says sourly.

"Sorry," Bruce tells him.

Tony waves him off. "You can't leave well enough alone," he says dismissively. "I normally like that about you."

"What I meant was," Bruce says, "that it doesn't seem like you, not arguing at all."

Tony opens his arms. "I am extremely agreeable."

Bruce gives him a look. "I saw you get into a fight with the coffeemaker last week."

"It started it," Tony says. "It goes like this," he explains. "If I have to hesitate for a second, then I know it's done. It doesn't matter what she's about to do to me. If it's not my knee-jerk reaction to fall at her feet, no matter if I do it bitching and moaning, then I'm done. That's the test."

Bruce has never heard anyone talk about submission in quite those terms before; he thinks about Betty, who talked about struggle and silence and control, about transcendence and freedom. They'd truly been hippies together, and Bruce couldn't possibly lie and say he didn't miss it.

"Sorry if I'm asking too many questions," Bruce says, ducking his head. "I've gotten really nosy in my old age."

Tony snorts, amused. "If you're going to poke me with a stick, you have to get Pepper's permission."

"I'll try and refrain," Bruce tells him, smiling. He looks down at the table. "Did you know you have that in backwards?"

Tony looks down, frowning. "Of course I did," he says. "Obviously I like it better that way, but if you have such strong opinions on whether or not things actually _work_ -"

"Uh huh," Bruce says. "It's all my fault."

"Glad we're in agreement," Tony says, carefully flipping it, and Bruce shakes his head.


	2. Chapter 2

When Pepper walks into their bedroom, Tony's so engrossed in what he's doing that he doesn't even notice, which isn't unusual for him. She can't really tell what's going on; Tony sitting backwards in a chair, his chest pressed against the back, naked from the waist up. He's got a tablet propped up in front of him, and Dummy is behind him, holding a paintbrush.

"If you get ink on my floor, I'm selling you to Art Instruction Schools," Tony tells it, carefully drawing something on his tablet, and Dummy makes a sad sound. "That's what I thought." He braces himself and taps the tablet twice, and Dummy starts moving, brushing the ink in long, smooth lines over Tony's skin. The design is mostly abstract, the kind of flourishes that Tony tends to draw in the margins of things. In the center, though, there's a stylized lock, Pepper's mark where a keyhole would be. It's lovely; it's just like Tony, his temporary creations elegant even when they're quick and dirty.

Dummy finishes the last of the brushstrokes, pulling back and chirping contentedly. Tony finally looks up, noticing Pepper for the first time.

"It's really just StarkDraw and remote control," he says, after a pause. She takes a step closer, and he holds up his hands. "It needs at least five minutes to set, if you felt like jumping me now."

"I thought I said no robots in the bedroom," she says.

He frowns. "I thought you meant no robots in _bed_ , which I still think is unfair." He reaches back, taking the paintbrush out of Dummy's claws and setting it down. "Go take a walk."

The robot scuttles out, carefully veering around Pepper as they pass. "Do I even want to know what's going on here?"

"I thought it would be hot," Tony tells her. "Y'know, you'd come in, and I'd be all naked in bed with 'Property of Pepper' on my back."

"And then it got out of hand," she says.

"That's kind of the opposite of what happened, if you think about it," Tony says. "It got progressively more under my control. It just happens that things under my control tend to be-" He waves his hand.

"Over the top?" Pepper supplies.

Tony considers this. "I was going to say something like 'grand' or 'elaborate', but that works too."

"What was the endgame of this plan?" she asks.

"Well," he says, "you'd come in, and you'd be pleased and amazed, and then you'd make me do terrible things."

"How terrible?" Pepper says, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, _atrocious_ ," Tony says, standing up. "We'd scandalize the neighbors."

She laughs. "If the neighbors aren't scandalized by now, they must be deaf and blind." She looks him over. "Five minutes, huh?"

"A very long and very short time," he says.

"Go get a strap-on, get undressed, then kneel by the bed," she says, smiling at Tony's dirty grin. He kisses her cheek as he goes, running off to the toy cabinet, and Pepper detours into the bathroom, shedding her clothes and freshening up a little before she comes back out. Tony's done exactly as he's been instructed; he's picked out one of the glass dildos, the one with bumps and curves that've been known to make him scream, and attached it to a harness. Now he's kneeling there looking very pleased with himself, his palms resting on his thighs, his eyes downcast.

Pepper is going to wreck him, and they'll both enjoy every second of it.

She steps into the harness, pulling it up and making it snug against her skin. "Up onto the bed," she says, because as good as Tony looks on his knees, he's going to look better laid out underneath her. "On your stomach."

He hops up, climbing eagerly onto the bed and laying down, his legs spread in invitation, and Pepper gets in behind him, pushing them farther apart. There's lube beside the bed, because both of them have given up the pretense of putting it away; Pepper picks it up, dripping it over the head of her cock, getting it nice and slick. She pulls Tony's hips up, getting him in the right place, and just pushes inside of him.

"Oh," Tony groans. "Hello there."

"You love it," she says.

"Loving it and expecting it, not the same thing," he tells her, pushing back against her. He likes it like this sometimes, something nice and hard opening him up without prep, and it's so much easier with the glass, less catch and drag.

Really, he should have seen it coming.

She thrusts into him slowly, making it count, making sure he feels every single inch of it, every contour. He doesn't even pretend like he's going to keep still for her, rocking back and trying to get more. She doesn't let him rush her; she's fairly sure he knows he's not going to be able to make her, no matter what he does, but he wouldn't be him if he didn't try anyway.

She runs her fingernail along the lines of the brushstrokes, tracing the sigil in the middle, and Tony puts his forehead down on the mattress, offering his neck in surrender. It's gorgeous, the black ink against his tan skin, the knowledge that he went to all these ridiculous lengths just to give her a surprise. That's Tony all over, proving himself with ostentatious gestures, anything to make it crystal clear how far he'd go for her.

She pushes into him harder, and Tony moans, clenching his fists in the bedsheets. He pushes back against her, meeting her as she thrusts, begging for more with his body, without his words. She doesn't change her tempo, fucking him slowly, her hips rolling against his, making him take everything she's got to give. She takes him by the thighs, pulling him back onto her dick, digging her fingernails into his skin, and he shivers.

"Pepper," he breathes, solemn as a prayer. "Oh God, Pepper, please, I'm yours, please tell me-"

That's the beautiful thing about Tony, that she doesn't have to make him say it, doesn't have to ask at all. There's a lot of bullshit on top, because that's him; but at his core he's hers, and that's the thing that matters. "Mine," she says, putting a finger underneath his collar and pulling. Tony moans loudly, a shudder going through him. "All mine." She reaches underneath him, getting a hand around his cock and stroking him, and he gasps. "Come for me."

Tony makes the best sounds when he comes, all the better because he's not faking them, not exaggerating at all- he's a good actor, but he's not that good. He trembles as it passes over him, moaning unreservedly into the mattress as she fucks him through it, giving it to him until he all but collapses, sighing contentedly. She withdraws carefully, smoothing her hands over his lower back, her thumbs sweeping over the edges of the ink, just below the lock, where it says he's hers.

He's very good at surprising her, and he's barely recovered before she finds herself on her back, Tony stretched out over her, braced above her on one arm. "Hey," he says, grinning at her, his hand sneaking down to undo the buckles of her harness. "You won't be needing this," he tells her, pulling it out from under her and tossing it away. He slips his fingers inside of her, sliding them slowly in and out, and she arches towards his touch.

He gasps as she suddenly pulls on his hair, tipping his head back and kissing his throat before she pushes him down. "Make it good."

"Only the best for you." He kisses her stomach. "Always the best," he promises, lowering his mouth to her clit, and she tosses her head back as he licks her, fast and wet, not letting up for an instant. She's already plenty wound up from taking him like that, and it's too short a time before she comes, calling out, his hands spread out on her thighs to keep her from bucking right off the bed.

"Stop," she says, pushing his head away, and he sits back, licking his lips. She gives him a look. "It's not fair when you do that."

"What?" he says innocently.

"It's just going to end poorly for you," she tells him. "I might decide I don't want to stop."

"Did I tell you Clint gave me a pair of kneepads?" he says. "Bright red. Gag gift kind of a thing. I can't decide if it was because he thought I would get embarrassed or because he knows I don't embarrass. Bruce got _really_ embarrassed, though, so it was completely worth it."

She sits up, swinging her legs around and putting her feet on the floor. "Go get them," she orders, and Tony grins.

"Yes, Ma'am," he says, all but jumping off the bed. She watches his back as he goes, the way the brushstrokes move as his muscles flex, the careless way he wears them, like it's so obvious that it doesn't even register that it should be anything but perfectly mundane.

This has all been Tony's elaborate plot, Pepper is very aware. It's just that she cares not the slightest bit to have been taken in.


End file.
